Worth pointing to OP's primary source, which is great: <a href="https://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/produce-facts-sheets" rel="nofollow">https://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/produce-facts-sheets</a><p>Edit because there seems to be some confusion about this: this is mainly constructed as a resource for farmers, grocers, etc, who are trying to bring produce to consumers in a state that it will arrive in their home at a good quality. Their requirements for length of time in storage/transport are very different from most consumers, and the resources they can devote to maintaining an optimal temperature, humidity, gas environment for a given type of produce are much more extensive. That said, there's plenty to learn from it as a consumer with the right eye, e.g. about how the tissue damage due to too cold storage may differ from too hot, or the ethylene interactions from storing various things together.
What about cucumbers that have been cut open?<p>E.g. salad cucumbers[1] are long enough that it's not uncommon to use a half at a time.<p>[1]: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucumber#/media/File:Organic_Gardener_Holding_a_Fresh_Salad_Cucumber.jpg" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucumber#/media/File:Organic_G...</a>
Source says optimal temperature is 10-12.5°C. My fridge is 6°C. My kitchen is generally above 19°C and often well above that, like 25°C. Is storing it 4°C too cold worse than storing them 10+°C too hot? I doubt it...
Broken link PDF: Storing Fresh Fruits and Vegetables for Better Taste <a href="https://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk12711/files/inline-files/230110.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk12711/fi...</a>
Here is the cheatsheet UC Davis made: <a href="https://ucdavis.app.box.com/s/sjpm10a24scbvwfm005epgab00i8f5yy" rel="nofollow">https://ucdavis.app.box.com/s/sjpm10a24scbvwfm005epgab00i8f5...</a><p>Was referenced but unavailable at the original link.
Except if you don't store them in the fridge, they seem to dehydrate pretty fast (couple of days).<p>So there's more to it than just temperature being the problem.
Cucumbers also seem to last surprisingly long time just in the room temperature on the kitchen counter. I always buy about half a week's worth of cucumber (we eat a lot of cucumber so this is usually 3-4 large ones) in one go and just leave them on the kitchen counter. After cutting one open, the open end dries a bit in a few hours, but then you can just cut a small slice off before using it again.
refrigerators temperature is usually close to lower threshold those summer veggies can handle, but on the other side, if you live in a warmer climate they won't store much better at room temperature.<p>I don't have central A/C, I use split-wall units because I think it is way less wasteful to only cool the places that are actually being used.<p>Because of that, I always wondered if one those wine cooler refrigerators, which work around 13C would be a good compromise in terms of optimal storage of fresh vegetables and roots X power efficiency.<p>Has anyone tested this? I'd eventually buy one and try it, but if someone else is doing this, I would love to hear about their experience.
You can put them in a paper towel and put that in a ziplock bag. Place that in the fridge, and they'll stay crisp much much longer than had they stayed on the counter.
I did not know this, but I knew that tomatoes taste superior when left out of the fridge. The strange thing is when the packaging on tomatoes says to store in the fridge.